PM presides over monthly government meeting

Improving business climate and national competitive edge is an urgent
and key task, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung told a monthly’s government
meeting in Hanoi on March 2.

Ministries, agencies and localities should do this job frequently and continually, he said.

Reflecting on the January – February socio-economic performance, it
was reported that the total retail value and agricultural production
were on the rise while industrial production and exports-imports
experienced slight month-on-month decreases due to the nine-day Lunar
New Year holiday.

Positive signals were seen in the
attraction of official development assistance and foreign direct
investment, and tourism sector as well.

Social welfare continued to be made available to the poor, ethnic minorities and ex-revolutionaries nationwide.

However, Cabinet members also admitted higher incidence of traffic
accidents, especially before and after the holiday, and challenges still
faced by enterprises.

They proposed a number of
initiatives to accelerate the pace of equitising State-owned
enterprises, rally domestic and foreign resources for socio-economic
infrastructures, as well as fix laws and mechanisms, towards a fair,
transparent and favourable business environment.

Several measures target the increased adoption of technological advances
in production and trading, the expansion of consumption markets of
agro-fisheries, among others.

Concluding the
meeting, the PM conceded that the overhaul of administrative procedures
and business climate is on the way, but at a slow pace, while the rate
of traffic accidents and crimes remain high.

He
also called for less-useful festivals and superstitious practices to be
removed, considering that Vietnam records 7,000 – 8,000 festivals.

The PM made it clear that the emphasis must be put
on clearing business constraints, including taxation, land use, customs,
social insurance, and electricity access.

At the
same time, it is a must to stabilise the macro-economy, exchange rates,
and lower lending rates, he said, adding that a crackdown on smuggling
and counterfeits and faster progress of constructing key buildings is
also a need.

On the economic restructuring,
underperforming State-owned enterprises, banks and credit institutions
continue to undergo shake-ups, so as to ensure that the rate of
non-performing loans will be brought down to below 3 percent this year.

Ministries, agencies and localities were tasked
with aligning regulations with the socialist-oriented economy which is
expected to be open, transparent and fair.

The
socialist orientations require a sound use of tools and policies and
fair allocation of resources to bring about social and cultural
well-being to all citizens. Take the prices of oil and gas, electricity,
coal, health care and education services for example, which he said,
should be calculated on a rational basis.

About the
social issues, he demanded better health care for the public by
embracing state-of-the-art medical technologies, addressing hospital
overcrowding, and facilitating use of health insurance by the whole
population.

The government leader also took the
occasion to urge the consolidation of national defence-security
capability, social security and order, and faster international
integration, with the negotiations on myriad free trade agreements.

Participants also gave their feedback on draft laws on fees and hydrometeorology.-VNA